Putting ourselves in the shoes of a lawyer to participate in trials and defend our clients does not seem like the most exciting and interesting plot premise that a video game can have, but Capcom and Shu Takumi showed us years ago with Ace Attorney how wrong we were, giving foot to a saga with a lot of personality and fun like few others. Unfortunately, the series has been losing momentum delivery after delivery, something that is very clear just by looking at the treatment that the company gives it outside of Japan, dispensing with additional translations into languages other than English and even physical editions.
All this ended up leading to the fact that his two most recent games, The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures and The Great Ace Attorney: Resolve , both for Nintendo 3DS, will never be released in the West, something that is now finally going to change thanks to the launch. International The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles , a remastering for current platforms with which we can discover for the first time two of the freshest, most interesting and best written chapters of the entire saga .
The legal battles of the late 19th century
Thus, we will be able to enjoy two unpublished titles in our parts that once again bet on the formula that made the series famous , proposing a great mix between visual novel and graphic adventure in which we will have to read huge amounts of text, look for evidence and participate in exciting trials where we will have to dismantle the lies and contradictions of the witnesses to put the jury on our side and prove the innocence of our client.
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A curious detail: once you overcome the first case, all the others will be unlocked so that you can play the one you want, although we recommend that you enjoy them in order.
However, this time the story takes place at the end of the 19th century , which represents a gigantic change of setting with respect to its predecessors (set in the present). As you can suppose, this has a gigantic impact both on the argument and on the development of the trials, since the culture of the time was different, the police investigation techniques were in their infancy and the technology was not too developed, thus favoring that we have to think differently to discover the truth and, of course, show that what we say is true.
The best thing is that the script is a real marvel , to the point that we have not come across any single case that we have been able to consider as “filler”. The plot is brilliantly spun so that everything happens consecutively and move the story forward, something that is very appreciated and helps to give rhythm to the script, avoiding cases that seem to be disconnected from the rest of the game.
The poses and animations of the characters will sound quite familiar to you, although most of them are completely new.
We do not want to go into too much detail to avoid possible spoilers , so we will only say that this time we will have to embody Ryunosuke Naruhodo, a Japanese novice lawyer who for various reasons will end up traveling to London and who, in addition, is the ancestor of the iconic Phoenix Wright. From here, we will enjoy a simply spectacular story, fantastically written, full of twists and with characters that exude charisma .
In addition, the fact that both titles have come to us together is something very significant, since they were originally designed as one. Yes, it was sold in two parts, but the feeling that they have given us is that of being a unique and great product with a complex and elaborate plot that begins in Adventures to continue and concludes in Resolve (after all, it only takes 2 months between the end of the first and the beginning of the second), something that is also very evident when playing, since both are practically identical and share the same mechanics.
In the moments of deduction with Herlock Sholmes our errors will be penalized, as in the trials, so think about your answers well.
In the playable there is not much to say and you will feel at home as soon as you have had the opportunity to enjoy any installment of the series. As usual, its development is usually divided into two well-differentiated parts: investigation and trials . The former will lead us to explore crime scenes to find evidence, to speak with anyone who may have useful information and, ultimately, to prepare to defend our client in court.
They are still the less good parts, although the cases are so interesting that they never get boring. In fact, now there are times when we will have to collaborate with Herlock Sholmes (yes, it is the way that Capcom has found to introduce Sherlock Holmes avoiding legal problems) to solve some mysteries based on making deductions, which helps to provide variety while we follow his reasoning and move the camera around certain places to point out those things that allow us to solve the enigmas that arise.
We will examine the scenarios in the purest point and click style.
When it comes to trials, the dynamic is the same as always: questioning witnesses, pressuring them to release more information, and presenting evidence that contradicts the testimonies . The pace and development of the litigation is quite a show and it is very difficult to let go of the console once you are in the middle of one of these legal battles, although this time there are some news that should be noted.
For example, now we will not only have to convince the judge, but also a jury , and if all its members decide that our client is guilty, we will have to turn the situation around by making its different members contradict each other. When this happens, each one will tell us their reasons for wanting to convict the accused, so we will have to choose those two whose reasoning conflicts, something for which we will sometimes have to tread fine and be very vigilant.
The jury is usually made up of the most diverse people and putting everyone on our side will not be easy.
Another novelty inherited directly from Professor Layton vs. We have Phoenix Wright in that there will be many times in which we will have to question more than one witness at the same time . As you can suppose, this can cause some of them to react in a striking way to what others say, something that we can point out so that they release more information and make the trial move in our favor. To all this we must also add classic mechanics, such as having to choose the correct answer when they ask us a question or have us point out a specific point in a photo to demonstrate our arguments. The sum of all this ends up translating intofantastic, varied, agile and exciting trials until the end that will force us to think in new ways thanks to the peculiarities of the time in which it is set. Yes, in reality they are still the same as always, but they have been given a touch of freshness that feels great.
Van Zieks has gone on to become one of our favorite prosecutors in the entire saga.
In total, completing both games is a task that can take us between 60 and 70 hours without too many problems, so you will have fun for a while. In addition, Capcom has included a gallery with very juicy bonus material in the form of illustrations and sketches with numerous comments from their authors.
At the graphic level we have to admit that it has surprised us quite a bit, since it looks really good . Obviously, it is still a remastering of two Nintendo 3DS games, but the high definition allows its models and scenarios to look great, as well as its great animations. In addition, thanks to the cel shading touch that it has, its shortcomings are camouflaged enough to offer us a very satisfactory visual experience, something for which its magnificent art direction is also very much to blame, with outstanding designs and rich scenarios full of details. And pay attention to its magnificent staging and the quality that its anime sequences treasure.
The sound, for its part, gives us a very good soundtrack that knows how to combine remixes of classic themes with completely new compositions to reinforce everything we see on screen and that each sequence transmits much more. The effects are the same as always and the dubbing allows us to choose between English and Japanese, although we will only hear voices in a few videos and when the characters shout very specific words or phrases. It’s a real shame, since this version was screaming for a full dubbing for all the dialogues, although Capcom has not been for the work.
On Nintendo Switch, the game looks great on both laptop and desktop.
Unfortunately, it has not opted for a Spanish translation of its texts either, so it only comes to us in English . Considering that it is a game in which we will not stop reading for a single second and that forces us to be very aware of how things are said to find the contradictions, this represents a huge barrier to entry for anyone who does not finish to master the language of Shakespeare with ease, thus limiting access, even more, to a title that we could already classify as a niche. And living in a time when rarities as risky as 13 Sentinels are being translated : Aegis Rim, We do not believe that there is too much excuse to justify that it has come to us in these conditions, and less when it comes to a fairly well-known saga from a company as successful and with as many resources as Capcom.
Conclusions
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles gives us the opportunity to enjoy for the first time two great games and a story that captures from beginning to end. In fact, we would dare to say that Shu Takumi, the creator of the series, signs his two roundest installments here, staying true to his usual formula while giving it a grateful touch of freshness and avoiding unnecessary filling. For this reason, we cannot help but regret that this spectacular work is tarnished in our lands due to its lack of translation, as it will greatly limit the audience it will be able to reach. It’s a shame, but if English isn’t a problem for you and you like this type of game, don’t hesitate to give it a try, because once you shout “I protest!” for the first time, you will not be able to stop until you complete each and every one of their cases.
